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Centre students had just arrived at school last Wednesday and were preparing for their first class when something odd occurred.

Some classrooms had light while others didn’t. Some electrical outlets worked and others didn’t.

After checking all the circuit breakers, facilities manager Richard Idleman went outside to find a burned out secondary wire leading to a transformer.

He informed Flint Hills Rural Electric about the outage, which set about getting parts to replace the damaged wire.

Superintendent Susan Beeson asked Idleman to report to her regarding water and sanitation.

When he reported that lack of electricity to fill water tanks would cause the school to run out of water, she made the decision to dismiss students at noon. Also, all electricity had to be turned off to allow for repairs to be made.

“We have a great staff who communicated with one another and kept school going,” Beeson said. “We had no bells or intercom, but the office staff kept things organized and made sure everyone was safe.”

Centre FFA was host to a district land-judging contest that day, so students from many other schools were present and were served a noon meal at the ag department. One ag classroom had lights.

“We ran around the school looking for plug-ins that worked to warm up the food,” FFA member Alexa Ammann said. “We went back and forth to the district office several times because it had electricity. It was crazy.”

The kitchen had partial electricity and could provide lunch before school was dismissed.

Pre-kindergarten children who usually go home on a small bus after lunch were allowed to ride home with other students.

“They thought it was exciting to ride on a big bus with the big kids,” Beeson said.

She was appreciative of how everyone worked together to fulfill the day’s requirements.

“We commend all of our staff for their organization and ability to carry on without a lot of disruption,” Beeson said.